CG 2nd Edition more info

If you join my digital-monochrome learning forum you will be able to buy the Contrast Grading 2nd edition DVD at a member discount, you have to join to receive the discount, its free and a great place to learn the art on mono, click the link below to go there

In a recent poll on the forum, members who bought the Contrast Grading DVD were asked for feedback using a multiple selection poll, below is the results of that poll up to the 19-11-11

As you can see the feedback is excellentt, however don't take my word for it read the testimonials below from people who have bought and used it.
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Hi Martin,
I think 2nd edition is far clearer to understand, although I find curves very difficult to use. Happily though I am now improving with cbw pro but still struggle with halos.once again I think 2nd edition is much easier to understand,great value for money and arrived very
quickly. many thanks , Phil.
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I am only about halfway through the DVD. So far, it is superb as expected. The original version was very good and v2 is an improvement so far. I will make comments as I go through it. I wish that both exposures of the the image would have been included in order to follow along with you on the blending. I am really a hands on learner. This is a small issue though. The explanations are very clear and easy to understand without both images.
Bryan
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Note/ both images are NOW included on the DVD
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Martin, I was extremely excited when the CG2 DVD's arrived here. I had some difficulty with version 1 in that I couldn't use imagefactory plug-ins and felt "left out" of the thrust of the process.
I immediately got into version 2, and it changed so very much about how I approach conversion and B/W processing, and so many concepts are clarified and simplified. Remember I am a surgeon - we're the ones that skip the text and look at the pictures in the medical books in order to learn.
Your videos are presented in a well elucidated and illustrated manner with just enough reiteration of major concepts so as not to be redundant nor repetitive.
The calm and measured Yorkshire accent also made it so pleasant for this enthusiastic yankee to follow along - much easier than my dear friends south of you with their Lanky dialect!

It is my feeling that this technique and its presentation in these videos should not be missed by any photographer interested in seeing their monochrome photography come to life. Best of all, the results are almost immediate - one's progress occurs in leaps and bounds, which always helps to maintain a high interest level.
I recommend your Contrast Grading concept and the DVD set to every photographer. This was the most important pearl of photographic wisdom since I got swept away with John Shaw's "Closeups in Nature" years ago.

Thank you for this wonderful set of tools, Martin. I would love for you to write an illustrated textbook (with DVD) on the subject - I believe it would be a best seller in the realm of photography.

Hi Martin, the CG2 DVD is an excellent resource for anyone doing monochrome, whether they are just getting started or have been doing it for years. The tutorials contained in this DVD are easy to follow and seems to be appropriate for Windows or Mac OS PCs. The processing approach outlined in the DVD is excellent and will, I'm sure, make a positive contribution to my own mono processing results. It will take me a long time to master all the elements of contrast grading, but I have been able to incorporate some elements of the approach into my current workflow. What I have found most significant in the CG2 training has not been the individual techniques, which are in themselves very useful, but the underlying philosophy embodied in the approach which serves to guide adherents as to when the use of a particular technique might be appropriate. Thanks again for making the training available.

For those photographers wishing to realise the full potential of their monochrome images, CG2 contains fully explained step-by-step processes which do not necessarily rely on any particular software but which use tools and a workflow that is adaptable to most image processing programs. Each step in the creation of a black and white image worthy of printing and exhibiting is shown clearly in the software, but it is Martin's guidance and his reasoning behind the processing that makes the tutorial invaluable.

As a very raw beginner within the ranks of Mono photographers on this excellent Forum I was really struggling to get to grips with the intricacies of both Lightroom and SC3 after circa 15 years of using Corel Photopaint in all of its various forms: Taking and processing RAW files is new to me also, so I am literally in at the Deep-End so to speak:

I had made a start in Lightroom but only by adjusting the whole photograph a little at a time.........the same went for CS3...............BUT!..............Your excellent Contrast Grading DVD opened new doors............I love the sheer simplicity of the first tutorial using background copies, curves, soft brushes and adjustment layers; flattened after every adjustment:

It is this method that I will be using because it suits exactly the way my creative but illogical mind works..........I have always been an artist so the importance of both Tone and Texture are very familiar to me, as is using brushes:

The proof of the pudding....as they say.........is in the eating (or in this case......the posting).......the improvement in mono processing on this site can be clearly observed:

Hi Martin. Have just finished my first quick run through the DVD. Excellent and I agree with a previous remark in that it is much easier to follow than CG1. You show us your workflow in great detail, even to the extent of how to correct things when you overstep the mark. Couple of good tips also in how to use the History Brush and the Quick Mask .
Only one minor grumble - for the first 3 or 4 mins. of Contrast Grading pt.1 you talk about your experience in the wet darkroom and about different papers....thought this should be in the introduction plus the fact small windows kept appearing with various interesting facts and I had to keep stopping the DVD to read them....very frustrating !!
Despite this minor irritation I shall be promoting your DVD to all my fellow club members at Leeds Photographic Society.

Hi Martin, I just went through the tutorial today. Very easy to follow, and I'm sure your more lengthy explanations are worthwhile.

I had already been converging towards these workflows, from experience of this forum as much as anywhere, starting from RAW, painting areas onto layer masks and/or adjustment layers, and using plugin (Topaz) filters. But rather than just desaturating I used the RAW mono conversion, varying different colours, especially making blue darker in the sky - I'll rework some images to see the difference.
Your step-by-step demos also made me aware of more shortcuts etc, which will save time.

I found the wet darkroom intro worthwhile, but I used to make prints on Ilford Multigrade years ago.

Have been using the DVD now for two weeks and have found it easy to follow.The information is all usable down to earth nuts and bolts.The areas relating to tonal contrast and texture were exceptionally good and I'm now using much of which I've learned on my colour images with excellent results

I've only been using the DVD for a little over a week now but can safely say CG2 really was the best money I have spent on photography in a long time! Simple easy to follow and the results I'm getting from some of my old images match up (on screen) to my wet darkroom prints which I never thought would be possible from digital (I'm even selling my film cameras and coming back to the digital age!).
Thank you Martin

My first post, so it may as well be here!
I have been lurking for a long time and a distant admirer of, not only your work, but of others here.
It really is quite intimidating.

I finally decided to order the downloadable version of your DVD and at the second attempt it came in quite quickly with no errors.

I have since watched the tutorials and am now going back through my images and trying your techniques on new ones or reworking old ones. It really is eye-opening (and addictive) as a whole new world opens up and the artistic juices begin to flow.

Thank you for sharing your methods with us, it's going to be quite a journey !

ajnphotography
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